New Zealand avocado oil delicious – and good for you

Olivado Extra Avocado Oil 

Olivado avocado oil

Photo: Olivado

According to the promotional materials avocado oil is accused of having the highest level of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats in comparison to other oils; and high levels of alpha and beta-carotene, which protect against heart disease and cancer. 

It has vitamins and minerals and a generous dose of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant; twice the amount of lutein as olive oil, which protects against macular degeneration and blindness; valuable omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower blood cholesterol; ounce-per-ounce, it is said to rank highest in monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, folate, potassium, magnesium, lutein, Beta-Sitosterol, and glutathione. 

It is made in New Zealand and available in Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States. That all sounded good. What we wanted to know was, did it taste good?

We tried cold pressed Olivado Extra Virgin Avocado Oil by itself with a bite of French bread, in salads blending it with balsamic vinegar and with baked fish and baked herbed potatoes. It is light with a distinctive herbal flavor. Delicious!

U.S. online travel consumer market largest, poised for growth

Online travel growth 2005 

Online leisure travel growth in 2005

Graphic: eMarketer.com

New York, NY — According to a recent eMarketer study, the U.S. is the global leader in online travel expenditures. Its leisure and non-corporate travel consumers will spend $122.4 billion by 2009, up from $64.9 billion last year, eMarketer projects in its new report, “Online Travel Worldwide: A Mosaic of Separate Markets.”

European travelers spent $35.5 billion online in 2005. And, the Asia-Pacific region, now one-quarter the size of the U.S. market, reaped $15.9 billion in 2005. It is expected to show quick growth in upcoming years.

Demographic studies of travelers in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region all show the emergence of an older generation of travelers, Baby Boomers (ages 45 to 60), who are healthy, adventurous and affluent, as well as Internet savvy.

“Online travel distributors and marketers who pay attention to these customers and design travel offers matching their interests and needs will reap rewards,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer’s senior analyst and author of the report.

The U.S. is the world’s largest and most mature travel market. Growth is slowing down in the U.S. At the same time, Europe, U.K., France and Germany are approaching maturity, while Southern and Eastern Europe have untapped potential.

The four fastest-growing travel markets over the next four years are China, South Korea, India and Japan. China, with projected travel spending growth of 18.3 percent to 2010, will rise from seventh place to fourth place in personal and business travel spending among the world’s 16 largest economies.

Market research company eMarketer conducts analysis of trends related to e-business, online marketing and emerging technologies. eMarketer aggregates and analyzes data from over 2,000 sources and brings it together in a suite of services offering. For online comfort and luxury travel reviews, visit SimonandBaker.com